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Archive for March 8th, 2013
Across U.S., Health Concerns Vie with Fracking Profits
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 8th, 2013
Inter Press Service: Peter "Pete" Seeger is a 93-year old U.S. folk legend who resides near Wappingers Falls in southern New York. He can be spotted occasionally on the traffic-heavy Route 9, flanked by world peace signs and armed with a banjo.
Activists behind a New York Police Department vehicle at an anti-fracking demonstration in Manhattan, New York City organized by CREDO Action and New Yorkers Against Fracking. The demonstration was aimed at New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was holding a policy summit in...
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The melting of Canada’s glaciers is irreversible
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 8th, 2013
New Scientist: See Canada's glaciers while you still can. Their melting is irreversible, according to projections based on real-world data and validated by satellite images.
By the end of the century, a fifth of the Canadian ice sheet - the world's third largest - could be gone for good, raising average global sea levels by 3.5 centimetres.
If the whole ice sheet melts, it would raise the global sea level by about 20 centimetres, a fraction of the 70 and 7 metre rises expected respectively if Antarctica and...
Scientists find new kind of bacterial life in hidden Antarctic lake
Posted by Guardian: Ian Sample on March 8th, 2013
Guardian: An enormous lake that has lain buried under Antarctic ice for millions of years is home to a new kind of bacterial life, Russian scientists claim.
The researchers found evidence for the unidentified organism in water samples brought up from Lake Vostok, the largest subglacial lake on the Antarctic continent.
The Russian team found seven samples of the mystery species in water that had frozen on a drill head used to reach the lake that lies beneath an ice sheet more than two miles (3.5km) thick....
Largest U.S. Dam Removal Releases Huge Amount of Sediment
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 8th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: Scientists tracking the aftermath of the largest dam removal in U.S. history say the dismantling of a dam in northwestern Washington state has unleashed about 34 million cubic yards of sediment and debris that built up for more than a century. While about one-third of the 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam on the Elwha River still stands, vast amounts of sediment are already flowing downstream, allowing University of Washington (UW) scientists a rare opportunity to track the discharges and study their ecological...
Wisconsin lawmakers approve bill clearing way for iron ore mine
Posted by Reuters: Brendan O'Brien on March 8th, 2013
Reuters: Wisconsin's Republican-controlled state Assembly on Thursday approved a bill that would clear the way for a possible $1.5 billion iron ore mine in the far northwest corner of the state by streamlining environmental regulations.
Representatives voted 58-39 along party lines to approve the bill that would set a 420-day limit for the state Department of Natural Resources to approve or deny a permit for iron ore mining.
The state Senate narrowly approved the bill in February. It goes next to Republican...
Nigeria: African Countries Tackle Water Scarcity to Combat Climate Change
Posted by Daily Trust: Alex Abutu on March 8th, 2013
Daily Trust: African countries are creating more reliable and accurate climate information, and building more durable, climate-resilient infrastructure across the sectors as part of strategies to cushion the impact of climate change. A statement issued by the United Nations backed Climate Investment Fund (CIF) said that the African strategy was supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the CIF with the intention of responding to complex problems that climate change was creating on their combined sectors...
Despite divisive rhetoric, Obama’s pipeline decision might not be a political game changer
Posted by E and E: Jennifer Yachnin on March 8th, 2013
E and E: Recent signals from the White House suggest President Obama could end more than four years of wrangling over the Keystone XL pipeline as early as this summer.
But while issuing permits for the project would be a consequential event, its political implications might be surprisingly few.
A decision by Obama to grant TransCanada Corp. a permit for the Alberta-to-Texas pipeline, an anticipated action given the favorable environmental review the State Department issued last week, would be guaranteed...
Canada Intensifies Keystone Lobbying Campaign
Posted by Postmedia: William Marsden on March 8th, 2013
Postmedia: As the decision on the Keystone XL pipeline nears, Canadian governments have launched an intense if not desperate lobbying campaign in the United States designed to persuade influential American politicians and industrial leaders that the pipeline is vital for U.S. security and economic interests and is also an environmentally responsible energy source.
The goal is to counter the rising influence of environmental groups such as the prominent Sierra Club and 350.org, whose leaders have lobbied...
Alberta’s loathed ‘bitumen bubble’ slams Canada’s rich province
Posted by Globe and Mail: Michael Babad on March 8th, 2013
Globe and Mail: In yesterday's budget, Finance Minister Doug Horner projected that Western Canadian Select, whose price has been well below global benchmarks because of pipeline constraints exacerbated by the shale boom in the United States, will continue to trade at a marked discount.
WCS, as it's known, is forecast to sell at an average 27-per-cent below West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, in the 2013-14 fiscal year. That's projected to shrink to 19 per cent by the next fiscal year, and it's hitting the province...
Senate Foreign Relations Chief Menendez Plans Keystone XL Hearing
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on March 8th, 2013
The Hill: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said Thursday that he intends to hold a hearing on the State Department’s review of the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.
“I am sure that at some point we will,” Menendez told The Hill in the Capitol.
“We want to review their process, especially as they go into the next phase,” he said of the State Department’s review of TransCanada Corp.’s proposed pipeline.
The hearing would ensure an even greater spotlight on...